Flying High
by Anawey
Summary: Avatar, with wings. I noticed people used to do this a bit in LotR fanfiction, so I thought I’d try it here.
1. Chapter 1

Flying High

Avatar, with wings. I noticed people used to do this a bit in LotR fanfiction, so I thought I'd try it here.

Disclaimer; Avatar does not belong to me.

A/N: just a bunch of moments, in which I think wings would have been cool. I hope you like it. If you don't, I encourage you to read something you do like, so you can be happy.

Wings: The Waterbending Master (Missing Scene)  
XxX

Iroh's head snapped up at the faint, water-logged coughing, his dull gold wings twitching. It couldn't be.......could it? Could Zuko somehow have survived, and made it to shore alive? Wings flapping, Iroh flew from the dock down to the sand below, and looked around him.

There! In the water, just beyond where he could stand, Zuko was struggling weakly, his shining wings wet, and dark from ocean water, and blood. He was fighting hard, but it was too much for him. Zuko tried to keep his head above water, but he couldn't see much, for the waves, and the bit of blood dripping into his eye. And he was getting tired, fast. His wings were weighed down by the water, and draging him down more than helping him get above the waves.

Iroh ran into the sea, going out as far as he could on foot, then swiming to Zuko's side, and pulled his nephew back toward the beach.

Zuko coughed and spluttered, water pouring out of his mouth. His face was cut up, and bruised, and his wings were almost torn apart, some of the usually shimmering feathers barely still attached. Iroh looked closely at him. Hurt, but alive. And he wasn't hurt too badly, either. Some of the cuts would scar, but Zuko was lucky to be alive.

The prince lay in his uncle's arms, exhausted, and barely conscious, though Iroh could see that the teenager was getting stronger by the second. His breathing had come back to a steady rhythym, which was comforting. If anything were seriously wrong inside Zuko, flustered breath, and coughing blood would have been the only warning signs.

"U-uncle," Zuko gasped, slowly sitting up. His wings were trembling, and he was shivering. Iroh looked at him for a moment before he grabbed the boy in a tight hug, tears stinging his eyes. The old general had nearly lost his beloved nephew, and he was glad to have him back, and safe.

XxX

Chapter one done! I hope you guys like this. If you don't that's okay. Just don't yell, please.


	2. Chapter 2

Soaring  
XxX

Laughing, Aang glided up, higher and higher into the sky, gray wings flashing in the sun. Not far below, Katara was flexing her own blue wings, twisting and turning in the air.

"Would you two get down here?" Sokka demanded. "You'll lead the Fire Nation right to us!"

Katara paused, hovering as she looked down at her brother.

"Sokka, we haven't seen any firebenders in a week. I think it's safe for us to fly for a while."

Sokka turned away, grumbling about 'stupid benders with their stupid wings, and stupid flying so stupid...'.

Katara watched him go, then rolled her eyes, and returned to stretching her wings with Aang.

"Hey, Katara!" the young Avatar called from above. "Watch this!"

Aang waited until he could see Katara's blue eyes on him, then flipped over backward in the air, spinning sideways, and ending with a backflip.

"That's great, Aang," Katara praised, smiling. She swooped low over the water, letting the very tips of her wing feathers touch the water.

Drops of wet splashed up, and when she rose again, her wings shimmered momentarily.

Not willing to be out done, Aang flew up high into the clouds, and allowed a few ice crystals to form on his wings, then before they could hinder his flight, flew back down.

Steel gray turned to silver in the noon light, flashing until the ice melted away and dripped from his wings.

Together, he and Katara continued to laugh and swoop through the sky, enjoying every second of flight. It was a rare moment when they had the chance to stretch their wings and fly. Most often, the Fire Nation was too close on their heels for them to risk it.

To Aang, this was his right as an airbender. Flight had always been something he enjoyed beyond words. He remembered flying around with Monk Gyatso and his other friends one hundred years ago.

Flying with Kuzon had been the best. They had always managed to get in and out of so much trouble. He missed him.

For Katara, flight was freedom. As a girl, whenever she was teased for being different, it was her wings that would carry her away to some quiet, hidden place where she could regain her composure and remind herself that her difference was a gift, because she could do things others could not.

Either way, to both benders, it was a part of who they were. It was an integral part of their souls; just as a fish must swim, a bird must soar.

XxX  
A new chapter!

Le Gasp!

I really am sorry I got away from this for so long. I'll try to update more regularly, I promise.


	3. Chapter 3

A Matter of Survival  
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"I don't fly," Toph said flatly. "I hate it."

Aang and Katara both looked slightly surprised at Toph's fierce dislike of her gift.

"But, flying is so much _fun!" _Aang pointed out, gray wings quivering.

"I can't see," Toph reminded him. "And even if I _could _see, I'm _grounded__."_

Aang's eyes popped wide. Grounded? Yes, he could see where it woul be unsafe for Toph to fly, but to actually prevent it, and so _permanently _as to _remove _her wings_, _it didn't seem right to him. There had to be something he could do.

"Toph, take my hand," he instructed.

Toph frowned.

"Why?"

Aang grinned.

"Just trust me, Toph," he asked, "please?"

Toph huffed hair out of her face.

"Fine, Twinkletoes," she grumbled, placing her hand in his.

Aang pulled her up against him, and before she could protest, rose into the air.

Toph cried out the moment her feet left the ground.

"Twinkletoes, I'm gonna _beat your butt!" _she shrieked, struggling.

"Toph, calm down, stop moving," Aang whispered. "I promise not to let go."

And Aang didn't. He held his new earthbending teacher close and flew through the skies, describing in great detail everything they passed.

Later that night, Aang sat by the small fire. He'd thought he was alone, but -

"Thank you, Aang," Toph whispered sleepily from her bedroll on the other side of the fire.

The young airbender looked up, but Toph was already asleep. He smiled slightly.

XxX  
And that's another down. And I figured Toph's parents would probably have removed her wings for her own protection. Maybe when she was little, she flew into a wall, and that's why they 'grounded' her.


End file.
